Treatments

If a patient has ovarian cancer, they will probably have surgery to remove the tumor and, if necessary and possible, cancer that has spread. A patient might also have chemotherapy (medication treatment) before surgery to make the cancer easier to remove and afterward to kill cancer that was left behind or that may have spread. 

Surgery confirms an ovarian cancer diagnosis, determines how far the cancer has spread—called staging—removes the ovaries and fallopian tubes, and removes cancer that has spread—called cytoreduction or debulking. 

Gynecologic oncologists are the best surgeons for ovarian cancer. They have extended training in surgical management of ovarian cancer and expertise in staging and debulking procedures. Our surgeons at Columbia University are world-renowned specialists from several disciplines to undertake the most complex surgeries as a team. 

Fertility Preservation

If ovarian cancer is detected early, the patient may be able to have fertility-sparing surgery. This surgery spares your uterus and an uninvolved ovary. The patient may also be a candidate for fertility-sparing surgery if they have nonepithelial ovarian tumors. Our team of gynecologic oncologists are leaders in the field of fertility preservation.

Surgery

Staging

Cancer stages define whether cancer is confined to its site of origin or has spread into nearby tissues or further into your body.

Your cancer’s stage, among other things, will determine your course of treatment. To stage cancer, your gynecologic oncologist will send tissue samples from your surgery to a pathologist, who will check them for abnormalities.

Each stage also has substages, you can find more details here(link is external and opens in a new window). 

• Stage I: Cancer is confined to one or both ovaries or fallopian tubes but hasn’t spread to the outer surface. No cancer cells are found in laboratory washings from the abdomen.

• Stage II: Cancer in one or both ovaries or fallopian tubes and in other organs within the pelvis, such as the uterus, fallopian tubes, bladder, sigmoid colon, or rectum. There’s no spread to the lymph nodes or distant sites.

• Stage III: Cancer in one or both ovaries or fallopian tubes that has spread to nearby organs or lymph nodes in the pelvis or abdomen.

• Stage IV: Cancer inside of the spleen, liver, lungs, brain, or other organs outside of the peritoneal cavity—the area enclosed by a membrane that lines the inner abdomen and some of the pelvis and covers most of its organs.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the most commonly known cancer treatment. Chemotherapy uses medications (chemicals) to stop cancer growth and spread and to prevent cancer from recurring by causing rapidly dividing cancer cells to become damaged and die. 

Chemotherapy is “systemic” medicine—it interferes with all fast-dividing cells in the body. This is why it causes side effects like hair loss. Most women with epithelial ovarian cancers require chemotherapy. Chemotherapy may be given before (neoadjuvant) or after (adjuvant) surgery and may be given intravenously (IV) or directly into the abdominal cavity-intraperitoneal (IP). 

Clinical Trials

You may qualify to participate in a clinical trial, which is a research study to learn more about promising new treatments or supportive care therapies. The hope is to improve the quality of life and survivorship of cervical cancer patients. You can talk to your care team about whether a clinical trial is an option for you. 

Learn More About Clinical Trials

Gynecologic Oncology Survivorship Program

Once you’re finished with treatment, you’ll enter a period of surveillance to make sure your cancer doesn’t return, and if it does, to catch it early.

Our experts in the Gynecologic Oncology Survivorship Program create an individualized survivorship plan for you. This plan is a comprehensive assessment that includes all the treatment you received, possible late side effects to watch for, a blueprint for future cancer screening, a surveillance plan, and a personalized plan for wellness activities to improve your lifestyle.

Surveillance for ovarian cancer typically includes blood tests to evaluate serum tumor markers, like CA125, and possibly imaging tests. You’ll usually see your gynecologic oncologist instead of your regular gynecologist for these tests. They’ll tailor your surveillance plan to your needs.

Recurrence

When cancer comes back after treatment, it’s called recurrence. Cancer can recur anywhere in your body, often in your abdominal cavity.

Symptoms of recurrence are abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, or vomiting and changes in bowel or bladder habits. If you have these symptoms, please talk to your gynecologic oncology team quickly.

If ovarian cancer returns, you will likely have chemotherapy, either one type alone or several kinds in combination. You may also have another operation followed by more chemotherapy.

Less common treatments for recurrent ovarian cancer are hormone therapy and radiation therapy.